I seek advice about a museum phone line to record callers' complaints and
compliments on museum operations.

I am researching the advisability of proposing a comment line as an
evaluation tool at The Science Museum of Minnesota.  Providing a call-in
number to visitors so they can quickly, conveniently, and annonymously leave
a recorded message commenting about the museum seems, at first thought, a
good data-gathering mechanism.  Could this be an efficient way to get
visitor reactions to what works well and what does not?

Or, is a bad idea?  Feedback from others, especially from those who may have
tried a similar thing, will inform me how far I may go with this idea.

Three mid-level staffers remarked that this is a worthwhile idea, while two
senior managers were skeptical and foresaw difficulties.  I am involved with
the Diversity Team, an in-house committee concerned with increasing the
diversity of our audience and our staff.  My idea arose in that context when
I discovered we already have a phone line set aside for the committee.  The
line is not currently being used.

My goal is to assist visitors in telling us things which may not be easy for
them to communicate due to a number of factors.  Some may not wish to write
a complaint or a compliment (currently, written messages are used) because
they do not have time.  Some cannot, due to low literacy skills.  Many
people lack the self-confidence to tell a museum worker face-to-face or over
the phone that they are displeased about something.  A phone line taking
voice mail messages may overcome these barriers.  It could be advertised in
general museum brochures, available in our lobby.

Reservations expressed so far:
--Children and adult pranksters would leave numerous invalid messages.
--Some people may fear that the line is not completely confidential--perhaps
the caller's phone number will be automatically recorded.
--Dedicating a staff person to process the voice mail would be too costly or
otherwise complicated.
--Promptly addressing visitor problems while they are still in the museum is
better than creating/allowing a delay in resolution.

Suggestions for counter-arguments, anyone?

Thank you for consideration of my proposal.  Your feedback will improve my
understanding of the possibilities and pitfalls of solliciting visitor
reactions in such a manner.  It certainly will help me decide whether to
make a case for such an initiative.

Museologically yours,

Diane J. Peterson
Suvey Assistant II
The Science Museum of Minnesota
St. Paul, Minnesota

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